Stocking and method of making the same



Jam 30, 1951 N. s. ILLGES ET AL 2,539,582

STOCKING AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME /V., S. /LLGES J 4E. STOLTZ Jam30, 1951 N. s. ILLGEs ET A1.

INVENTO /V. f. fge? J E. JZQZ iz BY "fix/,U j

ATTORNEY` Patented Jan. 30, 19,51

STOCKING AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Norman Shannon Illges and JosephEdward Stoltz, Columbus, Ga., assignors to Shannon Hosiery Mills,Incorporated, Columbus, Ga.

Application December 23, 1946, Serial No. 717,826

7 Claims.

l This invention relates to full fashioned stockings and methods forproducing them, and has reference more particularly to fullfashionedstockings knit in a single operation as distinguished fromthose made on separate leggers, footers, loopers, etc. The invention isdirected primarily to an improved heel construction in stockings of thistype.

Stockings made by the usual process of utilizing several machines failto accurately t the foot. The usual processes provide heel tabs whichhave to be looped to the foot portion to form the heel pocket. Theseheel tabs are substantially straight sided, and subsequent looping andseaming form a more or less square heel, or a bunching of excessmaterial in the seam if an attempt is made to round the heel. In anyevent the completed stocking fails to fit, being too tight across theinstep and too full at the ankle. Numerous attempts have been made toproduce a full fashioned stocking by a single operation eliminating thedelicate transfer operation and the necessity for looping the heel.These attempts have met with varying degrees of success but none haveproduced a stocking which would provide accurate heel fit and at thesame time require a single scaming operation to close up the blank.

The object of the present invention is to provide a full fashionedstocking and method for g producing it in a single knitting operation,wherein the completed stocking has a heel pocket of increased elasticityto insure a more perfect fit. The single knittingy operation willdispense with the necessity for looping the heel and thereby eliminatethe potential weak spots in the finished product which occur in anylooping operation.

Another object of the invention is to produce such a stocking having acleaner selvage, thus facilitating the single seaming operation andeliminating excess heel fabric. This provides` improved wearingqualities and a more comfortable stocking, particularly when pressure isapplied to the heel.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a method which canbe carried out on Yexisting full fashioned knitting machines with knownattachments, precluding the necessity for special equipment. Otherobjects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawing whichaccompaniesy and forms a part of this specification.

needle outward, or toward the selvage.

In the drawing:

Figure l'is a diagrammatic view of a portion of a full fashionedstocking blank, only the heel and adjacent portions being shown;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a completed heel portion of a fullfashioned stocking showing the actual arrangement of wales in thereinforced heel area and the contour of the heel; and,

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of the heel fabric showingfor a few courses above and below the line ll of Figure 1 those wales atthe left of Figure l.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in the method employed in makingthe contemplated stocking, the welt (not shown), leg l, and highsplicing 2 are knit in the usual manner down through a course denoted bythe dot and dash line 3 3. After the loops of the next course have beenformed, narrowing fingers on the knitting machine engage these loopsfrom the points 5 and outward, and transfer them one At the same timethe selvage carrier moves outward the space of one needle. On the nextthrow of the thread carrier a loop is formed on the needle left vacantby the transfer operation thus beginning a new wale. This operation isrepeated during successive courses until the line 4 4 is reached whichwidens the material to start the formation of the heel. The fabric inthis area will have its outer section composed of wales 'l which arediagonal to the wales in the leg portion and adjacent portion of thefoot. The inclination of the wales l to the leg wales is approximately45 degrees, and the section is defined by a line of small holes orpicots 8 and the angularly disposed selvage 9.

In the next succeeding courses, that area from line 4 4 to line id ll,the one needle outward transfer of the loops of diagonal wales l iscontinued but the operation of the narrowing ngers is slightlydifferent. In this area the loops of the diagonal wales 'l aretransferred outwardly one needle, and after the transfer the narrowingfingers without fabric continuing outward the distance of an additionalneedle. By this method of operation a line of holes Il is formed as acontinuation of, but at an angle to, the line of holes 8. Thetransferred wales, however, are continuations of, and in alignment with,transferred wales of the area between the lines 3 3 and l-. As thenarrowing ngers move a total distance of two needles between successivecourses, the holes I! in successive courses will be transversely spaceda diS- tance of two needles. Due to the fact that the narrowing fingersmoved outward a second needle after depositing the transfer loops, theinnermost transfer finger will move one needle from the innermosttransferred loop, and therefore theloopof thatwale will not betransferred in the next succeeding course,` and in thefnvished stockingsuccessive diagonal wales turn at the line of holes li in successivecourses and. continue vertically downward. The sharp direction change ofthese wales causesalllof't-hewales in the lower transferred area toassume an arcuate position as shown in FigurefZ, thusrforming a naturalcurvature for the. heels pocket, and positioning the wales transverselyofthe; direc,- tion of stretch to provide increased elasticity acrossthe instep.

To provide a continuous finished selvage the selvage mechanism remainsstationary during the knitting of the area between linesA-Li and IDs-l0,and coveringknives are'brought into 4operatiomto cause. the` loops of afewV of the wales adjacent tcthe selvage toremain on the needles andnotbe transferred ,with the, loops in the body of '.the fabric inthisarea; As the selvage mechanismis stationary, the wales l2 will followthe finished edge I3, thus providinga few wales adjacent to the selvagewhich are in continuous alignment with the selvage throughout the heelarea. Ai line M parallel to the selvage will resultv I where theangularly positioned wales terminate against the untransferred wales l2.This line lil andthe lineof holes Il are at an angle to one another andmeetto form a V'into which all of the angularly positioned wales run andeither changetheir directionv at the line of holes il, or terminateatfthe line i4.

When the line I'U- is reached the transfer bars carrying the narrowingingers are racked inwardly to points i5, and a narrowing of the fabrictakes place from the'line iii-l to the line [l-i6 to completev theformation of the heel. During the knitting of this area the transferbars-move inwardly two needies in each course, deposit the-fabric andthen move back one needle. At the same time the selvage carrier movesinwardly two needles each course, resulting in a iinishededge laextending at an'angle inwardly from thewidest portion of the heel areato the narrower fabric of the foot. Due to the fact that the transferbars move backfone needle after a twoneedle loop'tranefer, the wales inthe transferred area will be positioned parallel to the selvage liwhilethe row of narrowing Vi will convergetoward the selvage, the angularposition ofthe narrowing-l 'if with respect to the wales in the bodyportion of the fabric being equivalent to one needle narrowing. As willbe noted from Figure 2, the narrowing operation causes the wales in theregions i9 and 2G to curve in toward the line of narrowing, thus notonly shaping the fabric to t the heel but providing increased elasticityin the area adjacent to the line of holes 8 and l l.

lAfter the aboveoperations are completed the balance-of -the footisfknit in the usual manner. The toe-portion isthen looped andthe-stocking closed by aff single searningoperation from toe to welt:

Following the foregoing procedure results in a stocking having al cleanselvage shaped to'substantiallythe contour of a heel with a few of thewales adjacent tothe selvage running parallel totheselvage throughoutthe entire heel and into therfoot'-1. The novel'use of widening andnarrow--l ing provides increased fullness and elasticity in the heelpocket to insure a better fit in the heel and across the instep.

While a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention has beendescribed and shown herein, it is understood that changes may be madefrom the precise disclosure within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a stocking of the full fashioned type which is produced by acontinuous knitting operation, an improved heel construction comprising,an areain which the selvage and a plurality of' wales adjacent theretoare transferred outwardly in each of a-plurality of successive courses adistance equal to the spacing between adjacent wales, a subsequentlykknit area in which the said wales are also transferred outwardly adistance of one wale with the innermost Wale of the transferred group ineach succeeding course remaining untransferred andthe selvage anda--relatively few wales adjacent thereto remaining untransferred andparallel to the wales in the lbody portion of the fabric, whereby a lineofv joinder is formed between the transferred wales and theuntransferred wales adjacent to the selvage, andv a succeedingl area in'which narrowing takes place, the line of narrowing in they lastmentioned area positioned inwardly from theselvage and moving inwardly adistanceof one wale in-each succeeding course and thel selvage movinginwardly a distance of two wales in eachsucceeding course.

2. In a stocking of the full fashioned type'y which is prcducedby acontinuous knitting operation, an improved heel pocket including, anIarea adjacent to the apex ofthe heel pocketdefined by a line of holesand a walewise line of double loops, the line of holes and walewise lineof doubled loops converging toward one another and the wales within thearea ruiming into the said defining lines, the walewise line ofv doubledloops and a plurality of wales adjacent thereto being parallel to theselvage.

3. The method of producing an improvedfheel` the loops one needle,racking the transfer bars inwardly from thev selvages and knitting` a;plu:- rality of courses, the loops being transferreditwoi needles inwardeachV course and the transfers-N bar moved back one needle'afterther-two needle;

transfer, and moving the selvage stopsinwardly two needles in each' ofthe last mentionedjcourses,

4'. In a stockingi ofr the full-fashioned; typewhich` is .ma-de from a.4blank produced 'oy-fa; corr'.` tinuous knitting operation, anzimproved'heellcorr; struction comprising, an area beneatiizthe ankle;composed of; a plurality ofcourses.in;whichi a plurality ofloopsadjacent theselvage are transev ferredA outwardly to producemarginal,groupssofT diagonally positioned; wales` and,Y a;widenedfabric, a second area in continuation;ofthezrst:

composed of a plurality of courses in which the.

selvage and a few wales adjacent thereto are parallel to each other andother wales are trans-1 ferred outwardly to form diagonal wales incontinuation of those in the said first area, the outermost diagonalWales terminating against the innermost of said parallel wales, theinnermost loop of said diagonal wales in said second area be-l inguntransferred in at least some of the courses to turn into walesparallel to said selvages and adjacent wales, and a succeeding areacomposed of a plurality of courses in which a plurality of loopsadjacent the selvages are transferred in- Wardly to narrow the fabric.

5. In a stocking of the full-fashioned type which is made from a blankproduced by a continuous knitting operation, an improved heelcontruction comprising, an area beneath the ankle composed of aplurality of courses in which a plurality of loops adjacent the selvageare transferred outwardly to produce marginal groups of diagonallypositioned wales and a widened fabric, a second area in continuation ofthe iirst composed of a plurality of courses in which the selvage and afew Wales adjacent thereto are parallel to each other and other Walesare transferred outwardly to form diagonal Wales in continuation ofthose in the said iirst area, the outermost diagonal Wales terminatingagainst the innermost of said parallel Wales, the innermost loop of saiddiagonal wales in said second area being untransferred in at least someof the courses to turn into wales parallel to said selvages and adjacentWales, and a succeeding area in which the fabric is narrowed, the linesof narrowing in the last mentioned area being positioned inwardly fromthe selvages and each moving inwardly a distance of one Wale in eachsucceeding course and the selvages each moving inwardly a distance oftwo wales in each succeeding course.

6. In a stocking of the full-fashioned type which is made from a blankproduced by a continuous knitting operation, an improved heelconstruction comprising, an area beneath the ankle composed of aplurality of courses in which a plurality of loops adjacent the selvagesare transferred outwardly one Wale to produce marginal groups ofdiagonally positioned wales and a widened fabric, a second area incontinuation of the first composed of a plurality of courses in whichthe selvages and a few wales adjacent thereto are parallel to each otherand other wales are transferred one Wale outwardly to form diagonalwales in continuation of those in the said first area, the outermostdiagonal Wales terminating against the innermost of said parallel walesthe innermost loops or" said diagonal wales in said second area beinguntransferred in each course to turn into wales parallel to saidselvages and adjacent wales, and a succeeding area in which narrowingtakes place, the lines of narrowing in the last-mentioned area beingposi-- tioned inwardly from the selvages and each moving inwardly adistance of one Wale in each succeeding course and each selvage movinginward'- ly a distance of two Wales in each succeeding course.

7. The method of producing an improved heel pocket in a full-fashionedstocking formed by a continuous knitting operation comprising, movingthe selvage stops outward one needle in each of a plurality ofsuccessive courses below the ankle, and transferring a plurality ofloops adjacent to the selvages outward one needle in each of saidcourses, keeping the selvage stops stationary during an additionalplurality of courses, bringing covering knives into operation to preventthe transfer of a relatively few loops closely adjacent the selvages andcontinuing the one needle transfer operation with the transfer barsmoving Without fabric and an additional needle outward in each courseafter transferring the loops one needle, and knitting a plurality ofcourses in which the fabric is narrowed.

NORMAN S. ILLGES. JOSEPH EDWARD STOLTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,743,347 Hilscher Jan. 14, 19301,746,846 Wieland Feb. 11, 1930 2,154,602 Berger Apr. 18, 1939 2,319,224Garrett May 18, 1943 2,330,445 Patton Sept. 28, 1943 2,330,683 CobertSept. 28, 1943 2,347,457 Boedeker Apr. 25, 1944 2,385,672 Woodcock Sept.25, 1945

